Can Tennessee win a title without a passing game?

Many have a perception of what winning looks like in college football. Different eras have had different looks: triple option, Air Raid, pro style, or whatever the style may be. Head coach Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers have a great shot at making the College Football Playoff with a dominant defense and a strong running game.

Tennessee averages 214 rushing yards per game, best in the Southeastern Conference and 13th in FBS. Teams know DeSean Bishop and company are coming at them but haven’t been able to stop them for four quarters. Pair that with a defense that takes great pride in giving this team all it needs to win. It isn’t the sexiest recipe to some, but so far it has taken the Vols to an 8-2 record with their playoff hopes in their own hands.

Nov 14, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back DeSean Bishop (18) runs the ball as Texas A&M Aggies cornerback Vic Singleton (21) attempts a tackle during the first half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The passing offense ranks 123rd out of 138 FBS teams at 171.5 yards per game. That isn’t a typical profile for a national champion, but it isn’t unheard of either. A few title teams have won without much of a passing game.

Nebraska in 1997 is one of the most extreme examples. Tom Osborne’s final team threw for 121.1 yards per game and shared the national title with Michigan. The Cornhuskers didn’t need to throw. They led the country with 392.6 rushing yards and 47.1 points per game, running the option behind quarterback Scott Frost and I-back Ahman Green.

Ohio State in 2002 is another. Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes threw for 173.2 yards per game, 92nd nationally, and leaned on a defense that allowed 13.1 points per game. That team went 14-0 and beat Miami 31-24 in double overtime in the Fiesta Bowl for the title. Of the champions mentioned here, it is probably the best comparison to what Tennessee is doing now.

Even Michigan’s 2023 title team, known for running the ball and draining the clock, threw for 213.7 yards per game. That’s about 40 more yards per game than these Vols. Like Tennessee, that Michigan team leaned on its defense, finishing with the nation’s best scoring defense at 10.4 points per game.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel high-fives players during a football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 7, 2026 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

This is a different way of winning for Heupel, whose 2022 offense led the country in scoring (46.1 points per game) and total offense (525.5 yards per game). That season, Tennessee had the fifth-best passing offense at 326.1 yards per game and the 26th-ranked rushing offense at 199.5 yards per game.

Heupel, who was a national champion and Heisman runner-up as quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners in 2000, talked about the identity after Saturday’s 22-7 win at Texas A&M.

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“Man, we didn’t run the ball when I played,” he said jokingly. “The game consistently changes. There’s been some rule changes that play a major part of the flow of the game. The experience of your quarterbacks, your personnel, all those things go into it.

"At the end of the day, our job is to put our players in the best position to play winning football. You form an identity throughout the course of the year, and then you start playing to that identity a little bit too.”

Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles before a college football game between Tennessee and South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 24, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

What this year’s team has going for it is one of the most dominant defenses I’ve seen in college football. Under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the Vols have the best scoring defense in the SEC, allowing just 14.3 points per game, seventh in the FBS.

The unit has gotten better as the season has gone on. Tennessee has shut out its opponent in the second half in three of its last four SEC games and allowed just 6.5 points per game over its last two.

When you can shut teams down like that, you can win without a high-powered offense that pops off the screen. It’s worked for teams in different eras of college football, and I believe it could work for Tennessee. How this recipe holds up in the postseason remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

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